LGUs urged to allow people select preferred Covid-19 vaccine brand

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MANILA – A party-list legislator on Wednesday urged local government units (LGUs) to allow people choose their preferred Covid-19 vaccine brand for a booster shot.

The LGUs should clearly indicate in their registration websites which vaccines are available for the Covid-19 booster dose, Anakalusugan Party-list Representative Mike Defensor said.

He stated that the Department of Health (DOH) has issued guidelines on the mix-and-match of primary vaccines and booster shots, and that LGUs should follow the agency’s recommendations and be transparent in their registration process.

He cited the case of Quezon City, where the Vax Easy registration system does not show which brand of vaccine is available at which vaccination center.

“All it shows are the inoculation centers and the number of slots still available, leaving the registrant to guess which booster to choose,” he said.

He claimed that constituents are afraid of wasting their time by returning home if they do not like the vaccine when they visit their preferred vaccination site.

According to Defensor, those who have received their primary shots have the option of choosing Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, or Moderna as their booster, based on DOH mix-and-match guidelines.

National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., said the Philippines is “relatively” slow in administering booster shots against Covid-19.

Based on the most recent NTF data, the Philippines has administered 110,089,619 doses of Covid-19 vaccines nationwide – 57,254,482 as first doses, 50,627,196 as second doses, and 2,207,941 as booster shots.

“We are still relatively slow sa ating mga pagbo-booster. At the same time, kailangan po natin hanapin at i-vaccinate ang 2.5 million na unvaccinated seniors (We are still relatively slow in injecting booster shots. At the same time, we need to find and inoculate the 2.5 million unvaccinated seniors),” Galvez noted.